Phil Nicoletti has had a two-week break from the AMA Pro Motocross Championship action, so we decided to give him last week off from his column here on Racer X Online. But do not worry as Filthy is back this week to tackle some of your burning questions.
Send more questions via phil@racerxonline.com and he’ll be back next week to answer.
(Note: Some questions have been lightly edited for clarity.)
Phil,
I have been thinking about the video of you at Southwick with the wobbly legs and I have to ask you a question:
Did you know you were that deep into the weeds physically at the moment you crashed or had your competitive drive buried any sensibility?
Have you pushed yourself that far over the edge other times in your career, if so, how many times?
I have competed in marathons for over 30 years and I have been to “that place” and I know it’s not a particularly healthy place.
With that video, you might have proved you are the gnarliest dude out there Phil, if not the gnarliest, certainly the most stubborn!
Just another reason for the Philthy Nation to never stop supporting you!
Good luck with the rest of the season.
Jimmy G
Jimmy,
That’s the first it’s ever happened to me. Southwick wasn’t the hottest national that I’ve done by any means, but it was a hot freaking national and a test of all the strength and endurance I had to give after being hurt. I was definitely tired and managing my moto. But I had a half a lap to go, and I just hit neutral and tipped over. When you fall that late in moto, it just F$$$$$$ hit me! There was zero reserve. It’s just a bummer and makes me look like a puss. My 25-year-old self would have been disgusted. I also know deep down my 25-year-old self would struggled as well with the amount of prep that I had put in up to that point. I was only working my way back after a long time off, and my body wasn’t ready to go in the hole that far, but that’s the whole point of racing your way back. Just BLOWS I blew a top 10. Literally gave it all out there to get nothing in return. There is a saying, “It is about the journey and not the destination.” Which is hard to understand sometimes, but it’s the truth. I was going to finish that moto at Southwick, I didn’t give a shit if they had to bury me out there. I was going to finish. But it hurt. It hurt me for a whole week and still hurt at Millville.
Phil,
Saw you at Loretta’s! It’s funny to hear all the current pros to say just have fun down there. But I bet it wasn’t fun when you we’re aiming for titles. How did you balance it when you were racing down there and trying to “make it” in the sport?
Fred Williams
Fred,
Loretta Lynn’s wasn’t fun for me at all! It was always a do or die. It was always try, and do well enough to get free bikes, parts, travel, or a factory ride. At a young age it was a job. But it’s what I wanted. It was always me that wanted to “make it” and do it. So my dad and mom always put in the best effort they could. We stayed in a pickup truck for multiple years there. Straight up, no motorhome, sleeping in a damned truck. Between age 9 and 16 a kid really doesn’t understand a dollar. They say they do, but they don’t. Took me a long time to understand that when my dad would rip into me. When your parents use vacation days to go to LL for you then you know they care. I know that now, but I didn’t when I was a kid because I was a kid, and I very much appreciate it now. So now it’s funny to me to see families going through the same exact emotions I went through, as well as my parents. To sit back and see this and to give them the “advice” to just have fun and enjoy it is quite comical. When you’re in the thick of it, you can’t see it no matter who tells you or what they say.
With that being said…I am going to piss a lot of people off with this, and I’m totally okay with it. But I will be going back to LL at some point in my life. When I’m all said and done with professional racing, I am going back, and I’ll go back with whatever family I have at that point and my dad as my mechanic. That’s where it started, and that’s how it will end. I hope to go race with A-Mart (Alex Martin), and Zacho (Osborne) along with a few others that have made it this far. I’m looking forward to those days because it will be FUN! Enjoy beers, funnel cakes, and deep-fried Oreos. So, just warning everyone now, I’ll be there, so you can start the bitching now.
Dear Dr. Phil,
You are one of my favorite riders in the mold of NESC royalty. When I started it was Meenan, Rudnicki, Mayo, JoJo, Tony, Barton, Sampson, Fisher, Johnson, Waddington, Burdette, Finkelday, Dowd, Henry, Barna, Morse, Treadwell, Antonelli, Badger, Moose, Briere, Silva, Naumec, and many more talented “Boston Bruins” type grinders. You grinded out a nice day at Washougal so I was thinking …. When you got started who was on your list of local fast tough guys that impressed you?
Keep on grinding right into the playoffs!
Boston Jim
Jim,
Ahhh man. I had SO many badass guys with unreal skill to look up to when I was a kid. I don’t even know where to start actually. Carsten, Coen, McMillen, Plotts, Stratton, Finkle, Verakas, Riley, Mills, Ty Wallace, Carrol, Treadwell, Lorusso, and many more I know I’m forgetting. It’s a shame, too, because they were so awesome. The district race battle these guys would have were unreal. Then there was a younger crowd I always wanted to be like that were only a few years older than me: Mills, Kiniry, Evennou, Dougherty. They were always a few years older and were badass kids that always set the standard for me with speed. Ryan Mills was the OG though. He was the first “Amsoil Factory Connection Honda” kid. He was 12 years old racing Schoolboy 12-15 and 125A and winning. Just a beast. That will never happen again. Look at the results.